Happy Hump Day everyone!

Sorry, the post title just sounds a little gross. But these two things have just been on my mind today: shoes and toenails.

First off, if you are a distance runner and have ever trained for a half or full marathon (or anything longer!), you’ll probably find this article hilarious and completely relatable:
http://www.more.com/health/fitness/yuck-marathon-trainings-10-grossest-things

I can completely relate to numbers 1, 2, 7, and 10. It’s amazing the issues you run into when you go running for longer than 90 minutes. I swear, every time I hit 10ish miles or 90 minutes into a long run, my body starts rebelling. Chaffing will start making it’s presence known; my tummy might start to get upset from having nothing in it but Gu’s; and my sore toe will start reminding me that it’s still there.

About a month after my first 10K is when I started seriously training for my first half-marathon. This is when my first toenail incident occurred, and I ended up losing the nail on my second toe on my right foot. I now know it was because my shoes were too small. Months of running + a missing toenail has made me realize that running shoes should always be bought a 1/2 size larger than your normal size.

I thought I had it all figured out. But then the week after my half marathon, I noticed that the SAME toe (that finally had a thin nail growing back!) was sore and turning purple underneath the nail again! What the crap?! I thought I had done everything right. I had size 7 shoes instead of 6.5. I had on nice wool, sweat-wicking socks. I had my nails trimmed short. But nope….still happened. Again. Great… Now I just have to wait for the sad, thin nail to fall off and grow out. With my luck, it will happen just in time for flip-flop season! 😦
Should I get that for my car along with my 26.2 sticker that I will earn in March? Oh well…toenails are overrated. Guess I’ll just be picking my shoes a little more carefully during the next few months as the temperatures (hopefully!) start rising. I usually like my feet and enjoy wearing sandals/flip flops. But looks like I’ll be singing a different tune this summer!

New Running Shoes

Soooo, in hopes of preserving all my other toenails through my marathon and the summer months, I know I need another pair of shoes! Right now, I’m relying heavily on 1 pair and using another pair for shorter runs or trips to the gym. I love my first pair of good running shoes, Brooks Ravenna 4s, but I bought them in my normal shoe size instead of a bit larger, so I can’t use them for my long runs or race. This is why new shoes are necessary. 🙂

Right now I’m wearing these:

The Saucony Cohesion 6 and I really like them. I want something similar but with just a little more support in the heel. My Brooks are nice and thick in the heel, and I love them for it! The hunt is on…and I’ve found that it’s a pretty good time to do shoe shopping in the running world. Companies release their new shoes at the beginning of the year, so the older (last season) shoes go on sale. Woot! I need to find something quick and get them broken in before Little Rock. I’m sorry, credit card, but it’s for the good of everyone. Nice, new shoes will keep my feet happy and will keep everyone else from having to see all my toenail-less toes this summer. 🙂

Other than pondering new shoes and toenail issues, my day has been fairly normal. It kept snowing overnight, so my morning run and commute to work were interesting. My run was slippery and cold. It was still coming down at 5 a.m., so it was like running in a dark snowglobe. I also had one guy driving a large truck stop and yell at me as I was running on the opposite side of the road from him: “Hey dumba**, you shouldn’t be wearing all black!” I proceeded to keep on running in the opposite direction as I flipped him the bird. I had on a neon long sleeve top, neon shoes, and a neon ear warmer with my black (and reflective!) puffer vest on top. And I was nowhere in your way. Sorry for wearing ‘all black’, but I can’t help it that you are obviously an idiot who just so happens to be colorblind as well. 😉  People like that need to spend just ONE day in the shoes of a runner. I doubt he could keep up with me for even 5 minutes! (and yes, I am still angry about the dumba** comment, can you tell?!)

Tonight Nick and I will be home together, so we may venture out to the gym for a bit. I only got in 6.2 miles this morning, so a couple more treadmill miles won’t hurt. Plus I love people watching at the gym in the evenings. There are some crazy characters that show up for some of the evening classes!

Hope you all have a great night, and let’s keep our fingers crossed for no more snow!